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Guide to the Edward L. Cook Papers
Wyles Mss 39  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content of Collection

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Edward L. Cook Papers,
    Date (inclusive): 1862-1865
    Collection Number: Wyles Mss 39
    Creator: Cook, Edward Leigh
    Extent: .2 linear feet (1 half-size document box)
    Repository: University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Department of Special Collections
    Santa Barbara, California 93106-9010
    Physical Location: Vault
    Language: English.

    Administrative Information

    Access Restrictions

    None.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

    Preferred Citation

    Edward L. Cook Papers. Wyles Mss 39. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

    Acquisition Information

    Gift of Mr. And Mrs. Durward Sydney Riggs, 1964.

    Biography

    Drawn from an entry in: New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, v.4, Albany, 1912:
    Edward Leigh Cook (1835-1919) enlisted at Buffalo to serve three years and mustered in as Corporal, Company H, September 4, 1864. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, March 16, 1864. Further promotions followed: Second lieutenant, April 21, 1864; mustered in as First Lieutenant, August 4, 1864; as Captain, Company F, January 28, 1865; mustered out with company, August 28, 1865, at Richmond, Va. Other listings from his military career: Major, N.Y. Volunteers, by brevet; commissioned Second Lieutenant, May 18, 1864, with rank from April 21, 1864, replacing E. Nichols who was promoted; First Lieutenant, November 19, 1864, with rank from July 1, 1864, replacing M. Friday who was dismissed; Captain, January 20, 1865, with rank from December 9, 1864, replacing J.H. Dandy who was promoted.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    Primarily correspondence of Edward Leigh Cook, a resident of Nunday, N.Y. Cook was a Civil War Union soldier who served with the 100th New York Infantry, Co. F. and Co. H. The letters date from September 17, 1862 to September 6, 1865. Almost all were written to his parents and sisters while Cook served in Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida. (There is at least one item that seems to have been written by a comrade to Cook's sister Laura).
    In most of his correspondence, Cook describes various aspects of military life: travel, weather, the rigors of life in the field, and his private cares and concerns. He also gives his account of a number of battles in which he participated (Fort Sumter, Fort Wagner) in vivid detail. Cook also makes note of a number of famous personages and events: a visit by General Grant, the Sherman Campaign, troop movements and reported observations by Generals Lee, Sheridan, Grant and others. He describes his reactions to the death of Lincoln, the end of the war, and his desire to return home as soon as possible following Lee's surrender and the cessation of hostilities.